In December 1909, Samuel H. Vick purchased fifteen shares of the capital stock of The McGirt Publishing Company and was issued this certificate: 

Robeson County native James E. McGirt was poet of very modest talent who published a few collections of verse before moving to Philadelphia and founding McGirt’s Magazine, a monthly dedicated to African-American arts, literature, and general affairs. Public accommodationist declarations notwithstanding, Sam Vick was a race man, and his investment in this Black-owned business is not a surprise. It was a risky move, however, and in 1910 McGirt’s went under.